Class of 2013
George Lewis Jefferson Scholar
Boston, Massachusetts
“Some people knew they wanted to come to U.Va. since they were little. That wasn’t the case for me— in fact, I must admit that if it had not been for the Jefferson Scholarship, I would not have considered coming to U.Va. It is funny to think about that now because with hindsight, I would choose U.Va. over any of my other options in a heartbeat, scholarship or not.
“Coming from up north and from Cambridge especially, a lot of people seemed to have an “Ivy complex.” I definitely did…The mindset I was fed from an early age is that if you do well in school and succeed, you get to go to an Ivy league school—and if you tell people you’ve gotten into a school like Harvard or Yale, people automatically give the “I’m so impressed” look. It’s hard to admit to myself that the main reason I had such a hard time choosing the scholarship over one of these schools was for such a shallow reason as that—a brand name, really. But in the moment, I struggled with putting that enticing Ivy letter down… But what an excellent choice it was, because in reality, U.Va. has much better resources in my field of engineering than the schools I looked at with big, shiny names, and moreover, [U.Va. has] an amazing atmosphere that I never want to give up!
“The scholarship has been absolutely priceless in multiple ways. First, it helped bring me to U.Va. Although it was in part the monetary aspect which brought me here, it was also the people, professors, and communities which I found here that convinced me to come so far from home and all that was comfortable to me.
The financial freedom the scholarship allows is unbelievable… It is a great, great thing to be able to leave college without debt, to be able to spend your summers pursuing things which you are passionate about and not have to spend your energy worrying about money [during] a four year period when free exploration is so crucial.
“The community of Jefferson Scholars is an amazing support group to have. The scholars are in no way exclusive or elitist in their everyday lives—they are just some of the most amazing people you will meet…[The Jefferson Scholars community] really makes the University feel a little smaller and more personal from the first day on campus.
“[As a Jefferson Scholar] you’re not going to be the smartest person on campus—not even close. All the classes I have had at U.Va. have been full to the brim with some of the brightest people you will ever meet. Everyone (not just the Scholars) works at an amazing caliber which is humbling but such a pleasure and challenge to be around.”
As a second year, Rachel is majoring in Biomedical Engineering. She spends her extracurricular time as a member of the Ballroom Dance Club and Engineering Students without Borders. She is also a contributing member of the Water and Health in Limpopo, South Africa Project, and spent last summer doing research there.
